Several years ago Rabbi Millunchick, through the Chicago Rabbinical Council (CRC), put out a pamphlet guide for kohanim whose information can also be found on the CRC’s website.
Aside from hospitals, which kohanim know to avoid, and cemeteries and their surrounding areas (somewhat obvious, though trees that hang over both a cemetery and a sidewalk present additional concerns), some doctor and dentist offices can present problems for kohanim. (“Dentists sometimes take bones to their office to study. My understanding is that it’s less common now.”)
But the bulk of the CRC guide is about the Chicago area’s museums and zoos, and its list covers the majority of the city’s large museums.
“We soon realized that certain kinds of museums are more problematic than others,” he said. “The Field Museum of Natural History has many mummies and other human remains. In Chicago there’s a Museum of Surgical Science, which is obviously a problem. The Museum of Science & Industry has preserved fetuses. And the newest craze in museums is plastination, which mummifies the body but with plastic. There’s even a question as to whether a non-kohen can look at a plastination exhibit, as one is not allowed to benefit from a dead body.”
“A major benefit (of Rabbi Millunchick’s guide) was that he identified areas that almost nobody knew were even problematic,” said Kenny Berger, a kohen. “The Lincoln Park Zoo is a great example of this. The zoo is a very popular destination for families. Before his research, I was not aware of the serious issues present and I have lived in Chicago for practically my entire life.”
Almost all of the museums have been receptive to Rabbi Millunchick’s questions, but none has worked with him to the extent that the Chicago History Museum has.
When Rabbi Millunchick initially visited it in 2008, the museum had the skeletal remains of Jean La Lime, who is believed to be Chicago’s first recorded murder victim, in 1812. In 2012 – two hundreds years after that seminal foul play – the museum opened a Shalom Chicago exhibit and, to make the museum kohen-friendly, moved the skeleton offsite. It remained there until this past November, when the skeleton was moved back, as research is continuing to confirm that these are, in fact, the remains of Jean La Lime.
There was a “general level of awareness” among the collections staff, as well as a note in the museum catalog record, to notify the CRC if the skeleton was ever moved onsite, said Alison Eisendrath, director of collections at the museum.
The museum will “definitely notify” the cRc when the remains are moved offsite again, according to Eisendrath. “We want to maintain our promise and maintain our ties with the community.”